Latest Posts

Tonight: Julie Byrne

July 28, 2017

Fans of ambient art folk are in for a treat tonight. In a special event at unorthodox venue Silo City, singer-songwriter Julie Byrne makes her return to Buffalo. Joining her are natives Lara Buckley and Noah Falck. Julie Byrne, who was born and raised in Buffalo, is touring in support of her acclaimed sophomore album Not Even Happiness. Byrne’s compositions here are earthy and intimate, making use of intricate guitar fingerpicking with occasional light string accompaniment or samples. Her cross-country travels are inherent in these songs, and especially evident in her picturesque and poetic lyricism. Local artist Lara Buckley is known for her bombastic and spiritual sound collages, combining layers of vocals, synthetic instrumentation and natural field recordings. Noah Falck is the education director at Just Buffalo Literary Center, and he’ll be reading some of his own opaque-yet-poignant style poetry. The show begins at 8pm at Silo City. Tickets are[...]

Tough Old Bird – Where the Great Beasts Are Buried

July 10, 2017

Tough Old Bird’s description on Facebook reads, “good folk for good folks.” It is a simple yet effective statement. Their music has a relatable weight to it that reflects back the small town heart of their native Fillmore, NY. Their latest release, Where the Great Beasts Are Buried, is an EP containing 6 tracks recorded at their home throughout late 2016. The duo of Matthew and Nathan Corrigan draw influences from traditional folk music that maps out dusty and sepia-tinted landscapes with its songwriting, as well as the modern context of rust belt melancholia. They achieve a full and rich sound despite this being a home recording, while still maintaining a stripped-down and raw nature at the core of their songs. Matthew’s instrumental work is delicate yet commanding, while Nathan’s vocals have a road-weary heft to them, especially when paired with the rustic poeticism of his lyrics Americana, blues, indie[...]

Tonight: Francie Moon

May 3, 2017

Fans of garage indie-rock will be treated to a solid bill tonight. Two local groups will be joining New Jersey singer-songwriter Francie Moon at Mohawk Place. The three acts offer an array of DIY sounds sure to get you grooving. Francie Moon blends elements of rock, surf and punk for an effervescent basement sound. She’ll be hitting the stage with her full band, fresh off the release of her moody, ambient, and fuzz dripped record So This Is Life. Buffalo’s Bold Folly are a cavernous psych rock group who put out two new singles this year, highlighting their marriage of lo-fi and gritty music. Rounding out the evening will be rockers The Sofa Kingz. Show starts at 8, with tickets for $5.

Tonight: The Coathangers

April 26, 2017

Tonight, Atlanta punk rockers The Coathangers will be hitting up The Tralf. Joining the Suicide Squeeze Records group will be Buffalo native’s honey COMA. Together, it should make for an evening of heavy hitting hard rock. The Coathangers are known for having an irreverent playfulness to their songwriting. They combine that with a classic minimalist garage punk sound, reminiscent of some of the earliest female punk acts, while still having a foot in the modern indie sphere. The group is coming off the release of their 2016 full length Nosebleed Weekend, which landed on Paste Magazine’s 50 Best Albums of 2016 year end list. Openers honey COMA are a local supergroup, comprised of Mallwalkers’ Norelle Christiani, Humble Braggers’ Tom Burtless and Bryan Johnson & the Family’s Bryan Johnson. The collaboration describes themselves as slowcore sad rockers, and it fits. Their debut release 7 Songs features a blend of alt emo[...]

American Low Return with “settle_down”

April 13, 2017

Buffalo garage pop group American Low have been rather quiet for a while, but frontman Mike Brady has reemerged with a more stripped down approach with their new single “settle_down.” The track is pop infused Americana, combining a folky compositional vibe with a polished and radio friendly production. Its a fun little tune, complete with uptempo strummed acoustic guitars, shaker and tambourine accents, a catchy melody and just the right amount of speaker candy. Check out the song below and keep up to date with American Low over on Facebook. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/315782702″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Conor Oberst – Salutations

April 7, 2017

Apparently, last year’s Ruminations was just an appetizer, as Conor Oberst is back with a new, fuller record (both in sound and length). The over-an-hour-long Salutations sees him shift from solo acoustic guitar/piano sparseness to rounded out, full band arrangements. The album includes reworked renditions of all ten tracks from Ruminations, in addition to seven brand new songs. There is a stark contrast to these songs compared to last year’s counterparts. Ruminations was stripped down and bare, and felt almost like a cry for help in its startling isolation. Instead, Salutations is amblin’ Americana rock, finding company with organs, strings, accordion and percussion, as well as additional voices. Songs like “Tachycardia,” “Next of Kin” and “Mamah Borthwick (A Sketch)” turn into swooning ballads, while “Till St. Dymphna Kicks Us Out,” “Barbary Coast (Later)” and “A Little Uncanny” become torch-bearing anthems. There are also the seven additional new songs, essentially another[...]

Tonight: Advance Base

April 5, 2017

Two Orindal Records label mates are slated to hit Buffalo tonight. Advance Base and Karima Walker both bring their own unique brands of lo-fi pop to Mohawk Place. Joining them will be two local solo acts, Lara Buckley and Matt Script. Headlining the show is Chicago-based act Advance Base, the solo project of former Casiotone for the Painfully Alone member Owen Ashworth. Still riding the wave of his well-received record Nephew in the Wild, Ashworth’s sound is layered an array of electronic keyboards, employing minimalist arrangements that pair well with his heavy-hearted, soul-baring lyricism. Tucson singer-songwriter Karima Walker offers up an ambient and experimental kind of folk music, combining traditional folk melodies with tape loops and samples. Sound collage artist Lara Buckley opens the show, followed by loop-machine singer-songwriter Matt Script. Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8pm. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Hurray for the Riff Raff – The Navigator

March 17, 2017

For Americana singer-songwriter Alynda Lee Segarra, her career has been a ten-year cross-country journey. Now on her sixth studio album with her indie folk group Hurray for the Riff Raff, that journey has taken her to the upper tier of modern roots music. Titled The Navigator, it’s an album conceptually rooted in her own personal background and story, the product of Puerto Rican ancestry and a Bronx, New York upbringing. The new record sees an expanding of Segarra’s sound, beyond just the country-blues tinged folksiness of the band’s previous releases. Here, these songs’ arrangements burst with the flavors of New Orleans, southwestern and Latin American streets. The Navigator is a mostly autobiographical album, steeped in heritage and self-discovery. There is also a political flair, with lyrics condemning policies and societal notions that negatively effect historically disenfranchised groups of people. The album flows neatly through stylistic changes, a collage of sounds[...]

Jesca Hoop – Memories Are Now

March 3, 2017

Less than a year after the release of her duets album with Sam Beam, Jesca Hoop is back with an album of her own. Memories Are Now is the singer-songwriter’s fourth overall solo studio album, and solo debut for Sub Pop records. The new release is arguably her most realized and finely produced collection of songs to date. The veteran is known for her experimentation across an array of genres, from folk to jazz, rock to pop, blues to electronic and beyond. On Memories Are Now, she weaves her familiar eclectic tapestry, with some added layers. Mantra-like passages draw influence from African rhythms, and ambient overtones round out these compositions. Overtop of it all floats Hoop’s signature mid range voice, ethereal and lilting. Lyrical, she is socially engaged, rooted in the Now, and offers a tinge of political awareness. Her sly, grungy electric guitar licks pair well with the biting[...]

Henry’s Rifle – Arkansas

February 9, 2017

Recording under the alter ego Henry’s Rifle, John Alfred’s music is rooted in backroom Americana and weathered country-blues. The Albany native singer-songwriter’s latest EP, titled Arkansas, is raw and completely stripped down, both in tone and subject matter. With help from members of The Slaughterhouse Chorus and Linear North, the EP was recorded in various houses around Albany as well as the live room at WEQX in Manchester, Vermont. The music of Henry’s Rifle has an innate sadness to it. There is this kind of classic barroom sorrow to it that can be traced back to modern folk’s earliest days in the clubs of Greenwich Village. John Alfred’s rough, half-screamed voice adds another layer of darkness as well. All together, its somewhere in between solo Neil Young and early Avett Brothers. While the sonic focus is tight, the arrangements do vary slightly. The EP starts out with a dirge like[...]

Sleater Kinney – Live in Paris

February 3, 2017

With a career spanning over 20 years, Sleater-Kinney has left an indelible mark on modern alternative music. As pioneers of the riot grrrl movement, they helped usher in a new era of female powered rock that is edgy, raw and empowering. However, even after a long career, there are still some things they haven’t done. Their latest release for Sub Pop is the first ever live album in the band’s tenure. Live In Paris was recorded on March 20, 2015 at La Cigale in Paris, France. It was during the tour in support of their killer eighth studio album, No Cities to Love. Sleater-Kinney’s live shows are highly energetic and all out in your face, and that vibe isn’t lost here. In capturing this sold-out evening, the record showcases the group’s anthemic and abrasive style well. The dynamic between the four women packs a heavy punch, one that’s been cultivated[...]

Flo Morrissey and Matthew E. White – Gentlewoman, Ruby Man

January 25, 2017

Spacebomb Records has made a name for itself developing a polished sound reminiscent of ‘70s psych-soul. On this latest release, label founder Matthew E. White teams up with English singer-songwriter Flo Morrissey to deliver a batch of interesting covers, ranging from a Hare Krishna mantra (“Govindam”) to the theme from Grease. Titled Gentlewoman, Ruby Man, it’s a trip that’s equal parts sun-drenched and fuzzed out. Traditionally, when a female and a male singer get together to tackle an album worth of covers, the songs are usually well-known hits presented as romantic duets. This record is not traditional, and finds Morrissey and White trading singing duties and playing off of each other in unique ways. White’s understated voice has a low whisper to it, and it compliments the lilting and ethereal tone of Morrissey’s. Not to mention, there are a few deep cuts here by lesser-known artists, including tracks originally done[...]

Various Artists – The Hamilton Mixtape

December 19, 2016

There’s no doubt that Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning Hamilton: An American Musical has been one of the biggest cultural events in recent memory. The musical and its songs have been able to permeate almost every corner of pop culture, both here and abroad. On this new release, Miranda presents his treatment of the historical figure’s story in its originally conceived format: a mixtape. The Hamilton Mixtape, while a far cry from the flawless grandeur of the musical, serves as a suitable companion piece to the Broadway hit. A slew of industry big shots and indie stars come together to spin the well-known songs into a new context. The tracks themselves range from straightforward covers of the songs to completely reworked and reimagined takes on them. Miranda also threw in two new songs, demos of songs cut from the musical (“Valley Forge” and “Cabinet Battle 3″). Most[...]

Childish Gambino – “Awaken, My Love!”

December 8, 2016

Donald Glover has been proving a lot recently that he is one of the more prolific creative minds out there today. He’s a successful stand-up and comedic performer, a skilled dramatic actor, a writer/director/producer/star of an acclaimed new television show Atlanta, and of course, a rapper/hip-hop artist. Under the stage name Childish Gambino he already has a handful of releases under his belt, gaining scores of fans with his unique and frenetic style. His latest offering, however, is completely out of left field. After keeping the recording process a virtual airtight secret, he has surprised everyone with a big departure from his alt. hip-hop style we’ve come to know. His third full-length record “Awaken, My Love!” is steeped in soul, R&B, funk and psychedelic rock. It bares a deep resemblance to the funkadelic movement of the ‘70s that combined the popularity of psychedlia in rock ‘n’ roll music with the[...]

A Tribe Called Quest – We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service

November 29, 2016

Of the many “comebacks” this year, A Tribe Called Quest’s is perhaps at the top of them the list. After an 18-year hiatus due to different member conflicts, the legendary hip-hop trio returned with one of its best efforts, titled We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service. 2016 has been a year marked by many heartbreaking losses in the music community, and ATCQ were no exception. Founding member and principal MC Phife Dawg passed away earlier this year, but thankfully he had recorded several verses for the album beforehand. After almost two decades apart, you would think that the pioneering group would have some rust to shake off. But on We got it from Here…, they’ve recaptured that same old energy, and sound just as fresh as their mid-90’s peak. It has the vibe of a classic ATCQ record, while still sounding modern; there is not a[...]